


Six

by paradoxicalwinter



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Larry Stylinson Is Real, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-11-13
Packaged: 2018-04-21 12:17:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4828844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradoxicalwinter/pseuds/paradoxicalwinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I had never imagined a life where love was true, faithful, and beautiful. But I had also never imagined that the same love I had shared was cruel and unforgiving. I was just a boy of eighteen, and him sixteen. Young and naive, we believed we were invincible, ready for anything life had to throw at us. But we were wrong, so utterly wrong. Torn apart multiple times, almost giving up.</p><p>But in the end, it was worth it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1. "Hangover"

A tune comes to mind when I wake up like this, with greasy hair and only specs of the previous night stored away in my memory. Something or other about a "loaded gun"...

Oh yes, I remember now. My early twenties, boy did I ever love to party. The way the media had portrayed me as some playboy and baby daddy didn't even begin to bother me as much. Oh yes, I hated the rumor that I had impregnated that woman when in reality it was my so called friend. But it didn't stop me, or Harry for that matter. 

Harry... The taste of that name on my tongue reminds me of a rainy day in London. And the way his name flows so smoothly on the tongue,"Harry Styles". It sounds a lot slicker than "Louis Tomlinson". But the names mashed up together, something we had created, "Larry Stylinson", was a whole new story in itself. This isn't about me or him as individuals, but as a couple. We're not your ordinary couple either. We've been told "no" and smothered into dust more times than any daring ten year old could count, but in the end it made us stronger and more susceptible to pain and misery. There were times where we had no hope, no grasp on reality, where everything had spiraled out of control. Things changed too quickly, but soon we were numb. Numb and string puppets at the hands of big corporation and big money. 

Money. That was it, that was all they ever wanted. "Its for your best interest," they would tell us, an everlasting sneer planted on their mouths, "that you stay hidden." Money was the last thing I ever wanted out of that band. Sure, its nice to make a living off your dream, but the real nectar comes from the dream itself. When you become worth millions of dollars, people tend to forget your just as human as they are. You're not a god or a saint either. But not according to your bosses, you must become that by their standards and their standards only. 

I roll out of the recliner and onto my feet, blinking away dizziness and rubbing my sore temples. I look around me, absorb the scene. I can still taste the tang of alcohol on the back of my tongue, the smell in the room is faint but putrid, the blinds are drawn closed and its still dark, the snore of my mates keeps me head buzzing. All symptoms of a wild time last night, and as I regain my memory, I remember what the present day is. 

My wedding. 

Today I am wed to my life long lover, Harry Styles. 

I smile to myself and make my way over to the heavy curtains. I draw them open, light flooding in like a tidal wave. I hear multiple groans behind me, one standing out. 

"Fuckin' hell, Lou," Zayn growls, his eyes shut tight. 

"Rise and shine," I boom, standing with my arms crossed over my chest and my hip popped. "Anyone got the time?"

"Too early," Liam mutters. 

"Oh no, we are not playing this game, Payno," I walk over and sit on his legs, that are sprawled out on my couch. "Today is Tommo's day, not your's." 

"Please get off," He mumbles, his voice softer. 

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry," I stand. Niall is sitting up, staring at nothing in particular. Zayn is still refusing to even open his eyes. 

I see they're the only three that stuck around, and to my relief. Its currently 7:34 AM, and its 6 hours until I'm wed.


	2. 2. "Rehearsed"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gazes at me with his lips twitched upwards, but his eyes dead. Its as if we have rehearsed this before, these fake personas to act as puppets. I refuse to give in; I don't smile back, but curtly nod.

Just as we are finishing the mess that left destruction throughout my flat, the door opens and in steps Harry. His hands are full, so naturally I come to his aid.

"How was the party?" He inquires, planting a quick kiss on my forehead.

"We're still cleaning up, pretty much everyone is gone except for the lads," I reply, setting the mysterious paper bags on the counter. I peak inside one, Harry greets the boys. "What are these, Haz?"

"Corsages, Mum picked them up for me yesterday. Put them in the fridge will ya?"

"Ah," I smile, doing as requested. I remember the last wedding I had attended, my mum's about five years ago. It felt like only a fortnight before today, for one major reason. Harry was also there, but we could hardly be caught in the same photos that were to be released to the public eye through tweets and blogs. Eleanor Calder was also there as a brides maid for my mum. It felt a bit unnatural, but the overall situation with the fake persona that was Eleanor Calder never assumed fitting. But, what are beards for? Covering up gay celebrities, and what I happen to be is a gay celebrity. 

I especially recall from that day was what Harry had said to me on our way to the venue. "Don't let anyone call her your girlfriend, I don't care who they are and whether they know you. You love me, you're engaged to me. Don't let anyone set you in the heteronormative that your family seems to lean towards."

I scoffed at that. Everyone knew I was with Harry. Everyone knew Eleanor only fell short of a friend. "Don't be silly, its not like I'll be with her the whole time. I'll be with you more because you're my love. Just like Sophia will be with Liam and the beer in Niall's hand."

"Good, don't disappoint me with your choice of clothing today," His smirk caused a drowsiness in his irises. 

"I don't disappoint. I'm more worried about you and your ridiculous amount of patterned shirts," Harry chuckled at that, kissed me, and told me he'd see me in the afternoon.

I assumed from then that he had meant me mischievous sister, Lottie. But that was later disproved when one of my stepfather's relatives mistaken Eleanor as my fiance, and when I had corrected the older woman she simply stared blankly and laughed mechanically. Eleanor and I shared a concerned glimpse before she spoke, "No, ma'am, he isn't joking. You see the man with the hat taking photos? He is engaged with Louis. Not me." 

The woman stopped laughing and turned her gaze upon Harry. "Oh," she toke it back. "My apologies, I did not render you as gay."

I had then walked away and decided it was only best to hold my tongue. 

I sat back down in the living area, next to Harry. "Should we head to the venue, boo?" He asks me. 

"Is everything there?" I answer with a question. 

"Yup, we just need to make sure they set everything up correctly," Harry's irises trace over my face and land in my own trance. 

I nod simply, smile slightly. 

"Do you want our help, Haz?" Liam asks, gazing upon us with his usual, fond smirk. 

"I think we got it, Mum's already stressing out. Just come at noon as planned. We'll handle it. Thank you, anyways," Harry's dimpled smile glistens, and I'm lost for a moment. 

I realize the man I have been in love with for nearly eight years will never shine brighter than he will today. As I remember about three years ago, when the band was at the beginning of the end, we were at our strongest, where as a year before was our breaking point. I hardly ate ever, I smoked way too much whether it be dope or nicotine. Harry and I had broken up two or three times, believing we were on the road to ultimate destruction and chaos. We had lost all control of our lives, and had to start again. And to think that today, right now, we are only five hours to being wed.


	3. "Stressed Out"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This is too much," Harry murmurs, curling up into my chest. His eyes are watery, eyelids threatening to give out once more. "Its too much," A weaker repetition of the original phrase. 
> 
> "We'll be okay, I know we will," I jab at reassuring. But I know all hope has been lost, the future of mine and Harry's happiness at stake. 
> 
> "Maybe... Maybe we should breakup, before anything too rash happens," His steady gaze suddenly drifts off. 
> 
> "Haz...?" 
> 
> "No... It is for the best," He raises to his feet. "We need to wait." 
> 
> I hear the shattered remains hit the floor, obliterating. I look on with heartbreak, speechless.

When Harry and I arrived at the venue, we found our mothers stressing over only God knows what. I sigh, glimpse up at my fiance who has worried eyes, and waltz to my mother with Harry only a few steps short of mine. 

"Oh Louis, honey, put a coat on. Its chilly," Mum nags, rearranging the table centerpieces. "Bloody decorators couldn't get these right."

"They look lovely the way they are, Mum," I exhale. "Right, babe?" I turn my chin over my shoulder, gesturing Harry to reassure my stressed mother. 

"Well," He gnaws on his lip, fingering the delicate flowers. "Its not entirely what we asked for, boo." 

"We'll fix it, you two make sure everything else is in order, yeah?" Mum says affirmatively. "And double check on Anne? She's in the kitchen." 

"Is Gemma here too?" Harry inquires, running a hand through his soft curls.

"Yes, she brought over the suites and dresses. Oh? Louis, are those the corsages?" 

"Yeah, where should I put them?" I lift the brown paper bag in my hand then ease it back down.

"Just take them to Anne so she can put them in the refrigerator," Mum goes back to messing with the centerpieces. 

"Al'ight," I kiss Mum's cheek. "I'll see ya before the ceremony, yeah?" She smiles and nods before Harry and I trek to the kitchen. Harry speaks to Anne whilst I am storing the corsages in the the refrigerator. 

I remember when I first met Anne, she was bright eyed and welcoming. Mind you, this was nearly seven years ago back in the very first year of One Direction.

Ah yes, that old boy band that died out nearly a year ago. We had returned from hiatus rested up, out of the closet, and fresh for new ideas on how this band could bounce back. Our management team however, failed to make album sails escalate to what they once were. I honestly don't blame Zayn for dropping out of the One Direction craze early in its years of death. I almost wish I would have left too, but I had Harry.

If anything, Zayn became more of an absorber of the lime light, his debut solo album a hit. It soared past our fifth album, Made In The A.M. His producers and management laughed at us four, but we brushed it off and began working on our sixth album.

Which never came out.

The songs remained in our journals, maybe for Harry or Liam to use later on in their lives.

After the break up of the band, we all sat around a table. Somewhere, between happiness and sadness, we found a perfect nirvana. It was over, no more publicity stunts, no more suffocating paparazzi, no more staying up all night running on Red Bull trying to shoot photos for our next line of perfume, no more merchandise. It was a sigh of relief, but there was also a catch. No more tours, bus rides, and shows.

But the release, the huge release of freedom was the ultimate prize. Being able to really enjoy and take in life was a relief in the long run. The only stress that surfaced was the planning of our lives, when to get married, how, and everything between.

In the end, the pay off of the disbandment was worth it.


	4. "History"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I never want it to end."
> 
> "What did you expect?! A frolic through a field of flowers?! This is the real world, Tomlinson, this is strictly business."
> 
> "I just want to run away from our troubles... But its hard when your one of the most idolized celebrities in the world."
> 
> "I'm leaving, this is too much. This isn't what the books tell you when you read about fortune and fame, this is misery."
> 
> "We can make this great again, we'll have the biggest comeback of the century, you just wait."
> 
> "I think its for the best, lads, its over. The era of our lifetimes is through."

People are beginning to arrive, yet its still early in the day. Carefully wrapped boxes and miscellaneous objects are strewn about on the table labeled "Wedding Gifts", another table next to it with an empty platter for the cake has complimentary snacks. Music plays in the background, song Harry and I had written together as well as songs that were written by other artists for us. Ed hasn't arrived yet, but I know he'll be here soon. 

Zayn approaches me, a smirk on his lips and a box in his hand. "I got something for ya, mate." 

I groan, not wanting to deal with gifts right now. "Then put it on the table... I'll get it later."

"I don't think that'd be appropriate Tommo," His voice lowers, I catch his drift.   
I grab the box, taking a peak inside. 

"Ah. The ring," I smile. "Thanks, Z, for pickin this up."

"Hey, my pleasure. Think he'll like it?" 

"Oh, he'll love it," I nod, tucking the small box into my pocket. "Lets go get dressed out before Ed gets here. Can you ask Liam to meet us in there?"

"Yeah, of course," Zayn pulls out his phone and sends a quick text, then follows me to the inner rooms of the venue. 

As we're walking to the behind the scenes area, I can hardly believe its three hours until I'm married to the love of my life. From the moment we had met in the bathrooms to now, my life had gone in a completely different direction than that I would have ever dreamed. My morals, views, beliefs, and who I am and who I have become all changed with a bat of an eyelash. Before I knew it we were thrown into the turbulent that was twenty-first century fame, going from "yeah, I can do this, this is a dream come true" to "I cannot wake up from this nightmare". Within the first year of experiencing newfound love and new money, I had already been eaten away. I questioned who I was for a second time in a span of three hundred and sixty five days with countless sleepless nights. It had been a mystery until the fifth year began rolling around. I felt born anew, ready to take on what was left of the world. I began writing heavier, producing more and more material that would never be released and heard in my tone. All the secrets that followers had come to guess. 

I began to realize I had never felt more alive after One Direction was dead. I felt human, not some puppet. Never in my adult life had I experienced complete freedom and control of my choices, and it felt damn good. 

I will never forget One Direction, its locked away safely until I need to revise old memories. 

After putting on my suite and letting the stylist use the lint roller on all angles of the freshly tailored material, I step in front of a three paneled mirror and examine each cut and curve. Zayn and Liam stand next to me, doing the same. 

"Are you ready for the best day of your life, Tommo?" Liam smiles, drifting off to the side to lower himself onto a stool. 

"Like you wouldn't believe, mate," I stand tall and wide, convincing myself I am confident. 

The finishing touches are put on our hair, and we are at one hundred percent.


	5. "Song"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My hands shake, my eyes water, but I sing anyways. I don't dare look to my left, I don't dare look to my right. I'm hypnotized, stiff as a statue. 
> 
> "Tell me with your mind, body, and spirit. I can make the tears fall down like the showers that are British," My voice is soft, on the verge of giving out. "Whether we're together or apart we can both remove the masks and admit we regret it from the start," It cracks, echoing through the stadium. So fans scream, some cry, and some stay silent. They know, they know too well.

Ed had arrived an hour before the main event, and is currently setting up his stage area. I help him out with the sound equipment, keeping all the cords separate and in neat lines.

"Remember that song you wrote, Friends?" I ask, since we were on the topic of songwriting.

"How could I forget?" Ed smiles. "I had a lot of fun writing it, it was fairly easy considering all I had to do was ring Harry and ask him to talk about you for a while."

I chuckle. "He does ramble. But I do too. That was tough time, during our first breakup."

"It was. I think he cried once when I was on the phone with him. I felt bad about it, a bit insensitive. But when he heard the song, he told me it was worth it."

"Is it on the setlist?"

"Of course, I couldn't not put it on."

When I reflect on each word that was written about us, from the members in our band and Ed and ourselves included, I find each song is unique. Each song has its own past to it, its own story, but they're all connected in a way most artists cannot do. They all tell a single story of love and lust, desperateness and passion, loss and gain, strength and conflict...

Many of the composers will be here today, starting with Julian. Julian was always clever about the metaphors of each song, involving things that were personal to us. He always said love can be expressed in more ways than one, and through art is just one example.

"Do you ever look back, on all the years you and Harry have been together, and regret a single thing?" Ed suddenly asks.

"Of course I do, but I remember in the end we turned out alright. We're finally where we need to be, its felt like a century but I remember that from this day forth, we have our whole lives ahead of us," I smile, looking up to meet my friend's eyes. "And that's massive."

Ed smiles back. "Good. And I'm assuming you're just as ready as ever?"

"Oh yes, I've waited too long for this day." I check my watch. "I better find Zayn and Liam. You know where to go?"

"Yup. I'll see you in about half an hour," Ed sets his guitar case down. "Thanks for the help."

"Of course, you're welcome, mate," I walk away, finding Zayn and Liam right where they're supposed to be.

I sigh, shaking out any last minute jitters. This was it, this hour I will be married. And this day I will fall in love all over again.


	6. "Together"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was right there and then I would kneel down on one knee and ask Harry to marry me. To which he would throw his hands over his mouth and nod a non-audible yes. I then proceed to hug and kiss my now fiance, asking him to promise we’ll stay together. And as the night grew later, he told me that he’d never get away.

I stand at the altar, my hands folded in front of me. We are about ten minutes behind, but I feel no rush. Either way, we're married today and thats what counts.

The music starts up, Zayn nudges me, but my eyes are already staring down the aisle. A few long moments pass before I see Anne, who walks Harry. She's absolutely beaming with joy as is her son.

Harry, my Hazza, so elegant in his most natural form was now dressed from head to toe in a suite that made him less graceful and more ruggedly handsome. It made me emotional, if sixteen year old Harry were to stand next to twenty-four year old harry I would barely be able to tell the difference. Yet I see his old spirit in Harry's eyes, the curly haired spunky kid is in there somewhere. 

Before I know it, the ceremony has started and all I can do is stare deeply into Harry's emerald irises. When it came time to exchange vows, we broke eye contact. I said mine first:

"Harry, no lyric or verse could acquaint to how much in love I am with you. All I know is when I look back on all the years is that it was worth it. For me to be standing here, about to married to the love of my life, its incredible to think we made it. We all know I'm a man of few words, but when it comes to you, the breath is sucked from my lungs. Its nearly impossible to describe exactly how I feel when I see you. I love you, Harry, and I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with you." 

I looked up, Harry had tears in his eyes and his smile was wide. He cleared his throat. 

"Louis, when I first met you, I never thought it would go this far. I never imagined I would be standing here today with you. All of the memories made, all the times you broke my heart and I broke your's, and we're still here. I like to believe that love never dies, I could be wrong, but with you I know I'm right. No matter how many songs I write, I'll never be able to describe how I truly feel. No matter how many kids we have or cats we own, you're still my number one. I'm in love with you, Louis Tomlinson, and God has a lot of plans for us." 

The tears are in my eyes for the second time that day, and we are pronounced husband and husband. The ceremony is over, and I'm in near shock. After pictures, Harry and I go to his dressing room. He cups my face in his soft hands. 

"We did it boo, we're finally married," His lips touch mine again. 

"We did," My smile is too wide, while his says it all. 

"I would love to go into all honey-moon mode, but I'm afraid we still have guests to tend to."

"They can wait."

He chuckle and kisses my lips. "Maybe if the cake wasn't in danger of being eaten before we went out there. You know Niall." 

"Which is why the one thats out is fake, but I suppose. Not while we're still young."

"We have plenty of time later."

"Fine," I smile fondly. "Its just about six years ago I never thought this day would come."


End file.
